U.S. patent application number 12/006403 was filed with the patent office on 2009-07-02 for system, method and apparatus for avoiding loss of portable devices.
Invention is credited to Christopher Gilboy.
Application Number | 20090167525 12/006403 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40797529 |
Filed Date | 2009-07-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090167525 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gilboy; Christopher |
July 2, 2009 |
System, method and apparatus for avoiding loss of portable
devices
Abstract
In a system for monitoring a location of a polled unit, a
limitation arises where a polling unit becomes lost or stolen, and
a user remains unaware of this loss for an extended time period. In
an embodiment of the current invention, a system, apparatus, and
method are disclosed for automatically and quickly determining that
a polling unit in a polling setup has become lost or stolen. This
determination is accomplished by adapting a polled unit to
automatically detect an absence of a polling signal within a given
time period when a polling signal was expected. After determining
that no polling signal was received in the given time period, the
polled unit is adapted to perform a function--such as issuing a
notification to a user, to a service provider, or to another
party.
Inventors: |
Gilboy; Christopher;
(Freehold, NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
AT & T Legal Department - WS;Attn: Patent Docketing
Room 2A-207, One AT & T Way
Bedminster
NJ
07921
US
|
Family ID: |
40797529 |
Appl. No.: |
12/006403 |
Filed: |
January 2, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
340/539.32 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08B 13/1427 20130101;
G08B 21/24 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
340/539.32 |
International
Class: |
G08B 1/08 20060101
G08B001/08 |
Claims
1. A system comprising: a first unit adapted to a) transmit a
polling signal, over a given distance, to a second unit, and b)
receive back an indication from the second unit that the second
unit received the said polling signal; and, the second unit adapted
to a) detect whether it has received the said polling signal within
a given time period, and b) perform a function upon failure to
receive the said polling signal within the said time period.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein: the second unit is adapted to
issue a notification upon failure to receive the said polling
signal within the said time period.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein: the second unit is adapted to
broadcast an alarm if the said notification is issued.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein: the second unit is adapted to
send a transmission to at least one other unit if the said
notification is issued.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein: the first unit is adapted to
transmit the polling signal as a wireless signal.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein: the first unit is adapted to
transmit a wireless signal as a radio frequency (RF) wireless
signal.
7. The system of claim 5, wherein: the second unit is adapted to
alter the polling signal and to transmit the altered polling
signal.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein: the second unit is adapted to
use energy from the polling signal to transmit the altered polling
signal.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein: said given distance may be
adjusted, even after an initial setting.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein: said given time period may be
adjusted, even after an initial setting.
11. An apparatus comprising: a processor; a memory, said memory
communicatively connected to the processor; an input/output, said
input/output communicatively connected to the processor and to the
memory, said input and output comprising of a receiver; and, said
processor adapted to a) detect whether the apparatus has received a
polling signal in a given time period, and b) perform a function
upon failure of the apparatus to receive the said polling signal
within the given time period.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: said apparatus adapted to
a) receive the polling signal, said polling signal comprising a
radio frequency (RF) wireless signal, and b) return a response
signal, said response signal comprising an RF wireless signal.
13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: said processor being an
application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said input/output further
comprises: a notifier, said notifier comprising an alarm.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising: said processor
adapted to perform a function of activating the alarm in the
absence of a detected polling signal in the given time period.
16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said input/output further
comprises: a notifier, said notifier comprising a transmitter.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising: said processor
adapted to perform a function of transmitting an alert in the
absence of a detected polling signal in the given time period.
18. A method comprising: receiving a notification from a polled
unit, said polled unit adapted to receive a polling signal from a
polling unit; and, said notification indicating a failure to
receive the said polling signal by the polled unit within a given
time period.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: determining a
location of the polling unit.
20. The method of claim 18, further comprising: causing the polling
unit to broadcast an alarm.
21. The method of claim 18, further comprising: terminating a
service for the polling unit.
22. The method of claim 18, further comprising: disabling,
remotely, the polling unit.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to monitoring the
location of items, and more particularly to electronically
monitoring the location of portable items.
[0002] It is common for a person to carry small objects, for
example, keys, wallets, cellular phones, PDAs, purses, jewelry and
glasses. Due to their small size, desirability to thieves, and
abundance, it is somewhat common for these objects to be misplaced
or stolen. Accordingly, the person carrying such portable items may
desire to monitor these objects to make sure they do not become
lost or stolen. Being able to quickly determine that such an object
has become lost or stolen can spell the difference between a minor
inconvenience and a financial or emotional catastrophe.
[0003] One way to facilitate a monitoring of a portable object is
to have a system comprising a controlling unit, (called a polling
unit), that sends out a locating signal, (called a polling signal),
in order to detect the presence of a tag located with the portable
object, (such a tag being called a polled unit). The polling unit
has the necessary processor intelligence and hardware to send out a
polling signal and determine if a response signal was returned from
a polled unit on the monitored object. In the absence of a returned
signal, the polling unit may perform an operation--such as
notifying the monitored object's owner that the object has fallen
out of range of detection. In one monitoring scenario, the polling
unit is not portable. In another monitoring scenario, the polling
unit is itself a portable object, such as a cellular phone or
PDA.
[0004] In order to monitor these devices, the polled unit such as a
tag is attached to the monitored object. However, such a tag may
interfere with the portability and usage of the monitored object.
Therefore, it is important for these tags to not only serve their
function but also to be of minimal size and weight. Accordingly,
tags made with these goals in mind tend to have little or no
processor capabilities and very minimal functionality. For example,
they can respond to a polling signal, but cannot themselves poll
another unit.
[0005] Therefore, a problem emerges when valuable portable objects,
such as a cellular phone or a PDA are used to monitor the location
of other portable items. The system monitors the objects with the
polled unit tags; however, the system can not obtain information
regarding the location of the polling unit.
[0006] This problem has received some attention in the background
art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,034,684 discusses a personal-item
monitoring-system which monitors not only polled units but also the
polling unit. This is accomplished by having another unit in the
system with polling means. If a polling unit is determined to be
potentially lost or stolen, a phone call to a user-designated,
pre-selected, landline phone is made to notify the owned of the
loss.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 7,271,715 also discusses a personal article
tracking system and method. This patent discusses linking the
polling unit to a radiofrequency identification device (RFID) that
is affixed to clothing or jewelry of the owner of the personal
article being monitored. Thus, when the polling unit and that
particular RFID become separated, it may be assumed that the
polling unit has become lost or stolen. The polling unit may then
be programmed to contact a third party, such as a third party
registry of lost goods to report the loss. The third party can then
attempt to contact the owner through pre-established means.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 6,297,737 discusses an object locating system.
It discusses the following: "Tags preferably include a switch that,
when actuated, causes the tag to poll the mobile terminal, [i.e.
the original polling unit]. In response to receiving a poll signal
from a tag, the mobile terminal emits an audible signal and returns
a found signal to the [currently] polling tag. The polling tag
provides the user with a found/not-found indicator. Thus,
individual tags can be used to locate the mobile terminal."
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 6,774,782 discusses a similar idea.
"Preferably, the tags themselves include a poll switch that, when
actuated by the user, allows an individual tag to poll the mobile
terminal. In this manner, any tag may be used to assist the user in
locating the mobile terminal."
[0010] While the background art does recognize the problem of a
portable polling unit becoming lost or stolen, their solutions to
this problem have at least two shortcomings. One shortcoming is the
need to have another unit which is able to poll. The second
shortcoming is an inefficient means for notifying an owner of the
polling unit about the unit's loss or theft. Regarding the first
shortcoming, it is not always conceivable for there to be two
polling units in a monitoring system. Regarding the second
shortcoming, it is not always feasible for a user to be able to
predict where he may be contacted--e.g. a certain landline phone.
Therefore, relying on such an assumption is likely to lead to
considerable delay in the user being notified about the loss or
theft of a polling unit.
[0011] Therefore, these units are deficient when it is infeasible
to have two or more polling units and/or in a scenario where a user
is mobile and unable to always predict where he may be reachable.
In such circumstances, the user may not be automatically informed
in a short time period regarding a loss or theft of the polling
unit.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In accordance with an aspect of the current invention, the
limitations of the prior art are avoided by adapting a polled unit
to automatically detect when it has not received a polling signal
within a given time period, and to perform a function upon the
detection of the absence of a polling signal. The absence of a
polling signal at the polled unit for a given time period, is taken
as an indication that the polling unit is out of polling range of
the polled unit and therefore the polling unit is possibly lost or
stolen. All of this is accomplished in this aspect of the current
invention even though the polled unit does not possess its own
polling means.
[0013] In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the
polled unit is adapted to perform the function of issuing a
notification. In a feature of this embodiment, the issuing of a
notification comprises broadcasting of an audio, visual, or
vibrating alarm at the polled unit itself. In another feature of
this embodiment, the issuing of a notification is a transmission to
another unit, or to a service provider associated with the polling
and/or polled unit.
[0014] In accordance with the embodiment in which the notification
is a transmission to a service provider, there are several possible
further features which involved actions which the service provider
may perform. A first feature involves locating the polling unit,
for example, with a global positioning system (GPS). A second
feature involves transmitting an instruction for some other unit to
broadcast an audio, visual, or vibrating alarm concerning the loss
of the polling unit. A third feature involves interrupting the
service provider's service to the missing polling unit. A fourth
feature involves disabling the polling unit remotely.
[0015] In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention,
the polling signal is a wireless signal, such as a radio frequency
(RF) wireless signal. In a further embodiment, the polled unit is
adapted to alter or modulate the received wireless signal and then
to transmit the altered or modulated signal. The alteration or
modulation is of such a character that the transmitted signal may
be differentiated from a backscattered but otherwise unaltered
signal. In a further embodiment that may be used with the latter
embodiment, the polled unit utilizes the energy contained in the
polling signal to power the transmission process. In this
embodiment, the received wireless signal provides part or even all
of the power needed for the polled unit to transmit a signal and,
therefore, the polled unit does not require its own power source to
fulfill this function.
[0016] In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a
distance over which a polled object is polled may be adjusted even
after an initial setting. Some examples of parties who may adjust
the distance setting include a user and a service provider.
[0017] In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the
given time period waited before the polled unit performs a function
is adjustable. Some examples of parties who may adjust the given
time period include a user and a party providing a service to the
user.
[0018] These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent
to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following
detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a polling unit.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a flowchart representing a process carried out
utilizing a polling unit.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a polled unit.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a flowchart representing a process carried out
utilizing a polled unit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] A common concern for a person carrying a small object is the
possibility of at least one of these objects becoming lost or
stolen. Various solutions have been proposed in the background art.
One of the proposed solutions is to use a monitoring system
comprising a polling unit that sends out a polling signal to a
polled unit, the polled unit either being the monitored object or
being attached to the monitored object. If the polled unit is
within range of the polling unit, then the polled unit receives the
polling signal and responds back to the polling unit. In the
absence of any response from the polled unit, the polling unit may
perform an operation--such as notifying an owner of a monitored
object that the object may be lost or stolen. In one scenario, the
polling unit is itself a portable object, such as a cellular phone
or PDA. These portable make good polling units since they already
have the necessary processor capabilities to be able to take on an
additional role as a polling unit.
[0024] In the scenario where the polling unit itself is portable, a
person utilizing this system is likely to also be concerned about
monitoring this polling unit. However, this may be challenging
since there may not be any other unit in the monitoring system
capable of polling. If so, there is no unit available to monitor
the polling unit.
[0025] There are some attempts in the background art to address
this concern. Some examples of approaches include: a) using a
second polling unit for detecting a loss of the first polling unit,
b) detecting, by the user, a loss of the polling unit, and c)
attaching a polled unit to one's person and programming the polling
unit to notify an outside party or a landline telephone of the user
when the polling unit can no longer communicate with this
particular polled unit. There are at least two shortcomings of
these approaches. One shortcoming is a need to have another polling
unit in the system, which may not be technically or practically
feasible. A second shortcoming is a potential delay in transmitting
the information about the loss to the user in a quick and automated
manner. This delay may occur either when an outside party is
contacted or when the user's landline telephone is called. Since
the user is mobile, it may be difficult to predict how to contact
the user in order to provide information about the loss or theft of
a polling unit.
[0026] Due to at least the above mentioned shortcomings, the
background art falls short in providing a desirable way to avoid
the shortcoming of a slow and/or manual approach to informing a
user of a portable polling unit about the unit's loss or theft.
[0027] In accordance with an aspect of the current invention, the
limitations of the prior art are avoided by adapting a polled unit
to automatically detect when it has not received a polling signal
within a given time period, and to perform a function upon the
detection of the absence of a polling signal. The absence of a
polling signal at the polled unit for a given time period, is taken
as an indication that the polling unit is out of polling range of
the polled unit and therefore the polling unit is possibly lost or
stolen. All of this is accomplished in this aspect of the current
invention even though the polled unit does not possess its own
polling means.
[0028] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of a
polling unit. This figure shows an interconnection between
different parts of the polling unit, 101. A memory, 102, e.g.,
random access memory (RAM) and/or read only memory (ROM), is
communicatively connected to a) a processor, 103, e.g., a CPU, b) a
poller/receiver, 104, of the input/output block, 105, and c) the
notifier, 106, of the input/output block, 105. The processor, in
addition to being communicatively connected to the memory, is
communicatively connected to both parts of the input/output block,
i.e. the poller/receiver and the notifier, 106. In the input/output
block, the poller/receiver is adapted to be able to transmit a
polling signal as well as receive back a response from the polled
unit.
[0029] The processor on the polling unit is adapted to detect
whether the unit has received back some sort of response from a
polled unit. If no response is received within a given time period,
then the processor is adapted to activate the notifier to perform a
function.
[0030] One example of a function performed by the notifier is
broadcasting an alarm on the polling device itself. In this
example, the notifier in the figure is the alarm. In another
example, the function performed by the notifier is transmitting a
notification to a third party that no response signal has been
received from the polled unit. In this example, the notifier in the
figure is a transmitter.
[0031] FIG. 2 is a flowchart representing a process carried out
utilizing a polling unit. The process starts at step 201. At step
202, timer 1 is initialized. Timer 1 is the amount of time between
polling cycles. At step 203, it is determined if timer 1 has
expired. If it has not yet expired, then the process delays at step
203 until timer 1 expires. If it has expired, then a new polling
cycle commences. At step 204, a polling signal is sent to a polled
unit. This polling signal, in one embodiment, is a wireless signal.
In one example of this embodiment, the polling signal is an RF
wireless signal. At step 205, a second timer, timer 2, is
initialized.
[0032] The process continues at step 206 where it is ascertained if
a response has been received from the polled unit. If no response
has been received, then at step 208, it is determined if timer 2
has expired. If it has not yet expired, then the process returns to
step 206 until either timer 2 expires or the polling unit receives
a response from the polled unit. If timer 2 expires before a
response is received by the polling unit from the polled unit,
then--at step 209--the polling unit is adapted to issue a
notification. This notification may be a broadcasting of an aural,
visual, or vibrating alarm located in the polling unit itself.
Alternatively, the notification may be a transmission to another
unit or to a service provider. In either case, the process
continues by returning to step 204 where another polling signal is
transmitted to the polled unit.
[0033] When a response is received from a polled unit, the process
continues at step 207. If a notification has been issued, this step
terminates the notification. Then, whether or not a notification
has been issued--and subsequently terminated--the process continues
at step 202 where timer 1 is reinitialized in order to run through
another polling cycle.
[0034] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the
polled unit. This figure shows an interconnection between different
parts of the polled unit, 301. A memory, 302, is communicatively
connected to a) a processor, 303, b) a receiver, 304, of the
input/output, 305, block, and c) the notifier, 306, of the
input/output, 305, block.
[0035] The processor, in one embodiment, is a microprocessor. In
another embodiment, the processor is an application-specific
integrated circuit (ASIC). An ASIC is an integrated circuit (IC)
customized for a particular use. This is in contrast to a
microprocessor, which is intended for general-purpose use. The
processor, in additional to being communicatively connected to the
memory, is also communicatively connected to both parts of the
input/output block, the receiver and the notifier, 306. In this
embodiment, the polled unit has a notifier. However, in a separate
embodiment, the input/output block only contains a receiver without
containing a notifier.
[0036] In accordance with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the
polled unit is adapted to perform the function of issuing a
notification. In a feature of this embodiment, the issuing of a
notification is a broadcasting of an aural, visual, and/or
vibrating alarm on the polled unit itself. In this embodiment, the
notifier in the input/output block is a means broadcasting the
aural, visual, and/or vibrating alarm. Some examples of these
alarms include an alerting feature based on sound such as a beeper
or siren, based on sight such as flashing lights, based on
vibration, and any combination of these features.
[0037] In another feature of this embodiment, the issuing of a
notification is a transmission to another unit or to a service
provider. In regards to transmitting to a service provider, there
are several possible further features concerning actions which may
be performed. A first feature involves the locating of the polling
unit, for example, with a global positioning system (GPS). A second
feature involves transmitting an instruction for some other unit to
broadcast an aural, visual, or vibrating alarm concerning the loss
of the polling unit. A third feature involves interrupting the
service provider's service to the missing polling unit. A fourth
feature involves disabling the polling unit remotely. Other actions
which may be performed by a service provider may be envisioned by
those of ordinary skill in the art.
[0038] A fundamental difference between the polling unit and the
polled unit regards the polling signal. The polling unit has
poller, see 104 in FIG. 1, for transmitting a polling signal--such
as an RF wireless signal--to a polled unit. However, the polled
unit does not have a means for transmitting a polling signal.
[0039] In another embodiment, the polled unit is adapted to alter
or modulate the received wireless signal and then to transmit the
altered or modulated signal. The alteration or modulation is of
such a character that the transmitted signal may be differentiated
from a backscattered but otherwise unaltered signal. By responding
to the polling signal--whether by transmitting back the very same
signal or by first altering or modulating the signal--the polled
unit indicates that it is within a given distance of the polling
unit.
[0040] In a further embodiment that may be used with receiving a
wireless transmission, the polled unit utilizes the energy
contained in the polled signal to power transmission process. In
this embodiment, the received wireless signal provides part or even
all of the power needed for the polled unit to transmit a signal
and, therefore, the polled unit does not require its own power
source to fulfill this function.
[0041] FIG. 4 is a flowchart representing a process carried out
utilizing a polled unit. The process starts at step 401. At step
402, a timer is initialized. The timer counts the amount of time
since a previous polling signal was received from a polling unit.
At step 403, it is determined if a polling signal has been
received.
[0042] If no polling signal has been received, the process
continues at step 404 to determine if the timer has expired. If it
has not yet expired, then the process continues back at step 403
until either the timer expires or a polling signal is received. If
the timer expires before a polling signal is received, then the
polled unit issues a notification, at step 406. The process then
continues back at step 403 to see if a polling signal has been
received.
[0043] However, if a polling signal has been received, then a
response is made by the polled unit to the polling unit at step
405. In one embodiment, where the polling signal is a wireless
signal, a wireless transmission is retransmitted back to the
polling unit. In a further embodiment, if the polling signal is an
RF wireless signal, an RF wireless signal is transmitted back to
the polling unit. In a further embodiment, the polled unit alters
or modulates the received wireless signal. The polled unit then
transmits the now altered or modulated wireless signal back to the
polling unit. This indicates to the polling unit that the polled
unit is within polling range. As discussed previously, in one
embodiment, the polled unit utilizes the energy contained in the
polling signal to carry out this alteration or modulation and to
transmit a wireless signal back to the polling unit. Regardless of
what signal is transmitted back to the polling unit, the polled
unit deactivates any notification that has been previously issued,
and then continues back at step 402 where the timer is
reinitialized.
[0044] The polling system can be made more or less sensitive to
loss or theft detection in at least a few different ways. One way
to make the polling system more sensitive is to reduce a distance
of coverage of a polling signal transmitted by a polling unit. By
doing this, less distance between the polling unit and polled unit
is needed in order to fall out of range of one another. Therefore,
with all other factors being equal, the smaller the distance, the
more sensitive the polling setup is to an object being lost or
stolen. The larger the distance, the less sensitive is the
setup.
[0045] However, a downside to making the distance smaller is that
this change may lead to more false positives. False positives in
this context mean that the polling setup will give an erroneous
reading that an object is lost or stolen when really it is still on
the premises, but it just fell outside of the polling distance.
[0046] In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a
distance of coverage of a polling signal transmitted from a polling
unit is fixed at a time of manufacturing. In another embodiment, it
is fixed at some later time after the polling unit's manufacture,
for example, by a user or a party providing a service to a user. In
yet another embodiment, a distance of coverage of a polling signal
transmitted from a polling unit may be adjusted even after an
initial setting. Some examples of parties who may adjust the
distance setting include a user and a party providing a service to
the user.
[0047] Another way to make the polling system more sensitive is to
reduce the time period which is allowed for a polled unit to
respond to a polling signal from a polling unit. The longer the
time period, the longer it could potentially take to determine that
an object has fallen out of polling range. Therefore, it would seem
that this time should be minimized in order to make the polling
setup as sensitive as possible.
[0048] One limiting factor on how short this time can be is based
on the polling unit's polling protocol. This time period discussed
above must be longer than the length of each cycle of transmitting
a polling signal by the polling unit, i.e. timer 1 in FIG. 2. If
this is not the case, then even an object still within the polling
distance will, at times, issue a notification that it is out of
range of the polling unit because the time period wasn't long
enough to allow the polling unit to send out a polling signal.
[0049] In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the
given time period waited before the polled unit performs a
function, such as issuing a notification, is fixed. Parties that
may fix this value are the manufacturer of the polled unit, a user,
and a party providing a service to the user In accordance with
another embodiment of the invention, the given time period waited
before the polled unit performs a function is adjustable. Some
examples of parties who may adjust the given time period include a
user and a party providing a service to the user.
[0050] The foregoing Detailed Description is to be understood as
being in every respect illustrative and exemplary, but not
restrictive, and the scope of the invention disclosed herein is not
to be determined from the Detailed Description, but rather from the
claims as interpreted according to the full breadth permitted by
the patent laws. It is to be understood that the embodiments shown
and described herein are only illustrative of the principles of the
present invention and that various modifications may be implemented
by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention. Those skilled in the art could implement
various other feature combinations without departing from the scope
and spirit of the invention.
* * * * *